The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy consisting of high fantasy adventure films directed by New Zealander, Sir Peter Jackson.

The films are based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Long ago the Dark Lord Sauron forged a Ring of Power to control Middle‑earth. But the Ring was stolen, and for a long time thought to be lost. Many years later the Ring is found by a friendly wee hobbit Bilbo Baggins. In a land called the Shire, Frodo inherits the Ring from his uncle Bilbo. Now Frodo must take a journey across the lands of Middle‑earth, and throw the Ring into the volcano; Mt. Doom, the only place it can be destroyed.

Mt Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu

By Haka Tours

Mordor from Lord of the Rings (Mt Ngauruhoe)

Considered to be one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with an overall budget of $280million the entire project took eight years, with the filming for all three films done simultaneously and entirely in New Zealand.

Hobbiton, Hamilton - Waikato

By Sara Orme

This isn’t fantasy, it's Hobbiton - just as it was created for Peter Jackson's movies.